Real Madrid to Play Difficult Rival in Copa del Rey Round of 16

Early Friday, the Royal Spanish Football Federation held the draw for the Copa del Rey round of 16, leaving with it some interesting pairings, most notably Real Madrid and Sevilla.

These two teams met in the UEFA Super Cup back in August. That match ended with a Madrid win with another Sergio Ramos equalizer goal in the 93rd minute. Carvajal would score the winner in the 119th minute.

At the moment, Sevilla is in the third spot in La Liga. They are four points behind Los Blancos, who still lead the table even with one game still pending.

On January 15, they will also meet in La Liga at the Sánchez Pizjuán, meaning thy will play three times in 11 days. It will be a great way for Zinedine Zidane to get his men focused for the second half of the season.

While not a derby or El Clásico, clashes between the Andalusian team and Real are usually interesting and intense. One advantage for Zizou is that Sevilla is Cristiano Ronaldo’s favorite victim, having scored 21 goals against them since his arrival.

The team has been struggling lately. Both Deportivo La Coruña in the league and Kashima Antlers in the FIFA Club World Cup final were able to do some serious damage and made the wins a lot more difficult.

Sevilla is nothing like those two squads and has the means to advance to the quarter-finals. There’s no room for mistakes or relaxation, as Ben Yedder and Vietto will be glad.

Barcelona-Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal-Real Sociedad are the other two strong pairings. All of these teams, including Real Madrid and Sevilla, are taking up the top seven spots in La Liga.